Spring clean volunteers collect 472 bags of litter

6 hours ago

Shariqua AhmedPeterborough

News image — A discarded plastic skull was among the litter collected by volunteers

Peterborough Litter Wombles A person holding a white human skull made of plastic. — A discarded plastic skull was among the litter collected by volunteers

A plastic skull, a mouse skeleton, a plastic lizard, and dozens of motorbike parts are among the 472 bags of litter collected during a "spring clean" in Peterborough.

About 200 people took part in the Great British Spring Clean in the city over 16-29 March.

The initiative was mainly driven by Peterborough Litter Wombles (PLW), who organised 32 litter picks across areas including Orton, Hampton, Ravensthorpe, Dogsthorpe, Gunthorpe, and Gladstone Street.

The founder of PLW, Harry Machin, said: "The bags of rubbish are always only half the picture, because there's always this heavy stuff that we collect but can't be bagged, such as the wood, the bathroom furniture and the car parts."

Peterborough Litter Wombles A off-white colour skull-like object on the road. — The volunteer litter pickers collected a real mouse skeleton

"The spring clean is always a success. It gets lots of people out litter picking in different areas. But I always say that 17 days is not enough - it's a year-round thing, so the effort continues," he added.

Over the period, the volunteers collected various items including plastic and glass bottles, car tyres, vapes, general rubbish, flytipped household items and drug needles.

Peterborough Litter Wombles bottles and other rubbish dumped on the ground. — Litter Wombles said they came across many discarded alcohol bottles as well as drug paraphernalia while litter pcking across Peterborough

This year, Machin said it was "encouraging" to see a a diverse mix of volunteers taking part, including people, charities, community groups and local businesses.

One of the litter picks around Gladstone Street involved refugees and staff working at Gladstone Community Association (Gladca).

Peterborough Litter Wombles People in green high-visibility jackets, litter picking on the grass. — About a dozen people including refugees and staff from Gladstone Community Association joined the litter pick in the Gladstone Street area

Machin added that reaching communities in areas such as Gladstone Street was important, not just for clearing rubbish but for helping more people feel involved in improving their neighbourhoods.

He said the group was keen to build on this, and hoped to involve more communities in future clean-ups.

"The environment is what we all have in common," he said.

"It's not any one nationality or religion or political party that owns the environment - it's all of us.

"We really want to get that diversity. We've more work to do, but it's improving."

Machin also praised the support the volunteer-led group has been getting from Peterborough City Council, as well as councillors in different wards.